Kiyoshi and Tsunade took the route through the Land of Waterfalls.
"There really are a lot of waterfalls here," Tsunade remarked.
Almost every nation possessed its own unique geographical environnt. For instance, the Land of Snow was a place buried under heavy snow, while the Land of Water was a large island located far from the mainland in the middle of the ocean.
The Land of Waterfalls, anwhile, was composed of nurous cascades; the massive falls acted as a natural barrier, deterring invasions from other nations.
"Indeed," Kiyoshi said, watching the distant mountains shrouded in mist while the ceaseless roar of rushing water filled his ears. That mist was the result of water crashing from high peaks into the foot of the mountains.
Hidden within one of those many great waterfalls lay the entrance to the Hidden Waterfall Village. This was the only nation that was not one of the Five Great Nations yet still possessed a Tailed Beast. Choi, the Seven-Tails, was here.
*It's also Kakuzu's hotown...* Kiyoshi thought to himself.
Kakuzu was one half of the Zombie Combo and one of the longest-living individuals in the Naruto world. He was a figure from the era of the First Hokage! By stealing secret docunts, Kakuzu had obtained the secret technique [Earth Grudge Fear].
[Earth Grudge Fear] allowed a ninja to seize the still-beating hearts of others and store them within their own body to extend their lifespan. Furthermore, it allowed the user to master new chakra natures through the circulatory systems attached to those stolen hearts. One heart equaled one life. One would have to destroy all five hearts to truly kill Kakuzu.
'Right now, Kakuzu hasn't joined the Akatsuki yet,' Kiyoshi calculated the tiline of the plot.
The predecessor of the Akatsuki was rely an ordinary peace organization; it was only later, under Obito's manipulation, that it began to move toward the global stage. There was still so ti before the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.
Obito had not yet assud Madara's identity to walk the ninja world as the masked man. This ant Kakuzu was still just a rogue ninja. Even if Kiyoshi found a way to snatch this secret technique, no one would co to avenge him.
'Using the vitality of hearts to extend the lifespan of the entire body? An interesting train of thought,' a look of interest flashed in Kiyoshi's eyes. He had already decided to get his hands on this secret technique for research.
In the ninja world, there was no true immortality. Orochimaru and the Otsutsuki clan were the sa, rely lingering on by constantly using the bodies of others for reincarnation. For Orochimaru, it was [Living Corpse Reincarnation]; for the Otsutsuki, it was the [Karma].
As for Hidan, according to the official databook *Sha no Sho*, his constitution was the product of forbidden technique experints by the Jashin religion. He simply had an exceptionally strong recovery ability; at age 22, he was buried alive by Shikamaru and eventually starved to death. Kaguya beca a unique existence by rging with the Ten-Tails.
Unfortunately, her resurrection also used Six Paths Madara's body as a vessel rather than her own true physical form.
When Black Zetsu pierced Six Paths Madara's heart and Madara was unable to move, that abnormal scene might have been the process of planting a [Karma].
Kiyoshi pondered. Sooner or later, he would obtain true immortality. Power alone eventually becos a handful of dust. Only when immortality is combined with peerless strength can one truly control their own destiny.
"Don't daze off. We've already entered the border of the Land of Earth," Tsunade reminded him. She had noticed Kiyoshi being distracted throughout the journey, unsure of what he was thinking.
"Right."
Kiyoshi withdrew from his musings and looked at the starkly different landscape ahead. The waterfalls had vanished without a trace. Everywhere were steep, rugged mountains, with yellowish-brown soil and rocks covering every surface.
The only difference from the Land of Wind was that this place was made of earth and crags rather than desert. Vegetation was sparse, and the air was thin because the elevation here was too high. Precipitation ford on the windward slopes of the mountains; thus, neighboring countries like the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Grass had heavy rainfall.
anwhile, the Land of Earth, situated on the leeward side, naturally had little rain, creating a relatively arid climate.
"Up ahead!" After walking for several hours, Tsunade suddenly spoke. She sensed a chaotic and massive group of chakra signatures.
Kiyoshi's pitch-black eyes squeezed out a tomoe, followed by more tomoe rotating into place to adorn his pupils. The blurred black dots in the distance beca magnified in Kiyoshi's vision, turning incredibly clear.
"It's ninjas from the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud. They've already engaged each other."
Kiyoshi narrated the intelligence seen through his Sharingan. He could see the Hidden Cloud side retreating while the Hidden Stone pursued relentlessly. Kiyoshi understood—next should be the mont where the Third Raikage, in order to let his comrades escape, fought alone against an enemy force of ten thousand ninjas from the Land of Earth.
He fought a solitary battle to draw away the enemy, and after fighting for three days and three nights to buy ti for his companions, he would die of exhaustion.
"Let's sneak over carefully." Tsunade couldn't see that far and could only make the most reasonable move based on Kiyoshi's description. They needed to observe the situation of this battle to relay accurate intelligence.
"Okay." Kiyoshi nodded. Their figures vanished into the sparse mountain woods beneath the jagged peaks as they continued to draw closer.
***
"You guys go first. I'll stay behind to cover the retreat."
A man built like a steel tower ca to a halt. In front of him was a dark mass of Hidden Stone ninjas. The sunlight shone on his dark skin, and the "Lightning" tattoo on his right shoulder cast a long shadow across his arm.
"Lord Third, you are the Raikage. We cannot abandon you."
"Yes, how could we do such a thing?" The surrounding Hidden Cloud ninjas tried to dissuade him.
"Father!" A shouted.
His pale yellow hair was slicked back, and his Hidden Cloud flak jacket was torn in a large patch, revealing a burly physique and a green shuriken-like tattoo on his shoulder.
"My mind is made up. Say no more." The Third Raikage waved his hand.
In the ti they took to speak, the Hidden Stone's ninja units were continuously surging forward. "If we all stay, we will all die here."
The Third Raikage called over Dodai and gave instructions for his final affairs. Even though he possessed the strongest physical body in the village, he couldn't guarantee he would survive against such a sea of people. The Third Raikage spoke quickly and at length. Among his words, he ntioned Kiyoshi.
"I have recorded the intelligence passed down; the growth curve of Kiyoshi Yotsuki is too fast. It is best not to make an enemy of this man." The Third Raikage looked at Dodai and also at his only son, A. Unsurprisingly, the next Raikage after his death would be A.
"Yes, Father." The young A didn't know why his father held Kiyoshi Yotsuki in such high regard, but he nodded heavily in agreent.
"If there ever cos a day when he wishes to return to the Hidden Cloud, by all ans, ensure more of the bloodline remains." Ti was short, so the Third Raikage had to keep it brief before ordering the dozen or so remaining Hidden Cloud ninjas to retreat.
He had originally intended to personally handle the matter of Kiyoshi Yotsuki after resolving the issues with the Hidden Stone. He hadn't expected the Hidden Stone to set an ambush to sneak-attack him here. The Hidden Cloud ninjas all left the area with heavy hearts.
The Hidden Stone units did not choose to pursue; instead, they tacitly surrounded the Third Raikage. If they could keep the Third Raikage here, they could severely weaken the Hidden Cloud! If they captured him, there would be even more benefits.
"Onoki's son, is it..." The Third Raikage looked at one of the ninjas leading the force. That signature large nose and beard allowed the Third Raikage to recognize him as Onoki's son. This man's strength was not bad, but unfortunately, he had not learned the [Particle Style] that only the Second Tsuchikage Mu and Third Tsuchikage Onoki knew.
His Strongest Shield was simply not sothing other ninjutsu could compete with. Either he would be breached by his own Strongest Spear, the [Hell Stab: One-Finger Spear], or he could only be breached by [Particle Style], which could decompose matter into an atomic state.
Even in his past battle with the Eight-Tails, the opponent's [Tailed Beast Bomb] hadn't left any scars on him. Of course, that wasn't to say a [Tailed Beast Bomb] was inferior to [Particle Style], but rather that the unique nature of [Particle Style] was too much of a counter for a flesh-and-blood body like his. This was the conclusion he had reached after countless battles and the best proof of his tempered physique!
"If Onoki isn't coming, you lot are just a bunch of rabble."
With that, electric arcs began to spray from the Third Raikage's body.
[Lightning Style Chakra Mode]!
Strongest Lightning Armor!
Azure electric arcs covered every part of the Third Raikage's body like flowing water or a woven net. The current blew his pale yellow hair straight up, emitting massive chakra fluctuations.
Kiyoshi and Tsunade reached a concealed spot and observed the situation from there.
'[Lightning Style Chakra Mode],' Kiyoshi thought. He had already obtained this ninjutsu through Samui. After a bit of "investigation" into Samui, she had delivered the ninjutsu scroll the next day.
During his learning, the [Lightning Style Jonin (Purple)] Trait had appeared. The requirent was to complete the training for two A-rank Lightning Style techniques or four B-rank Lightning Style techniques.
The current Kiyoshi had only just managed to train the technique to a usable state. But such a technique was too conspicuous; he had to create a legitimate cover for its origin.
"So that's how it is..." Kiyoshi deliberately muttered to himself.
"How is what?" Tsunade saw his Sharingan, which had a different number of tomoe in each eye, and felt a sense of eeriness even under the hot sumr sun.
"The so-called Strongest Lightning Armor."
Kiyoshi raised a finger. Tsunade stared, uncomprehending, the amber pupils of her eyes still hiding her confusion.
*Crackle!*
The sound of fine electric arcs rang out. A layer of [Lightning] chakra covered the tip of Kiyoshi's finger, shining with an azure lightning glow.
Its color was almost identical to when the Third Raikage used the technique. If one looked closely, they would notice that Kiyoshi's arcs were slightly darker, possessing an indescribable sense of heaviness.
This was not the [Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop]. Although both involved covering oneself in lightning like the [Lightning Style Chakra Mode], the forr emphasized a montary burst, with arcs as rigid as bone spurs. The latter, however, had a sense of being wrapped in flowing water.
Tsunade's pupils shrank. It wasn't that she hadn't heard of Kiyoshi being a genius before. She herself understood that Kiyoshi's talent in dicine was excellent. But it was nothing compared to the shock she felt now. Kiyoshi had actually mastered the secret Nintaijutsu of the Land of Lightning just by taking a look?
"The Sharingan really is formidable... No, it's you who is formidable, Kiyoshi." Tsunade corrected the error in her words.
The Sharingan had long been fad as the "Copy Wheel Eye," and it was said so Uchiha could copy the ninjutsu of other ninjas.
Because the Sharingan's insight could see the general trajectory of chakra flowing through the ridian system, combined with observing the ninja's hand signs, they could use the sa jutsu as the opponent.
But... such ninjas were rare. The Uchiha were mostly famous for Genjutsu and Fire Style.
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